Historic US Coin Values Online Reports

Below is a
sample from one of our
historic US coin values online reports. The reports consist of tables
showing
coin pricing from
many years in the past to the present. All of our online reports
contain a table for every coin in the group (e.g. Lincoln Cents).
Information in the tables is
highlighted and explained in the sample.

The main idea of the Coin Value Tables is to show collectors how
individual
coin dates change in value over time. Some have increased in price much
faster than others. Long term price trends from the past are the best
indicator
we have to predict what may happen in the future. Thus, coins with
solid historical gains are the coins most likely to do the same
in the years ahead.

All the Coin Value Tables on this website
closely resemble the sample
below. There is no charge to view the data. These are FREE coin
reports. We want you to use this
information to select coins with the best chance of rising in price, if
that is your goal.

We also provide PDF downloads with the exact
same information,
reformatted for easy printing. The Collector Index, not seen in
the sample below, is a bonus feature offered exclusively in the
printed reports. Read more about the Collector Index and
get printed reports in easy-to-use PDF format over at the
US Coin Reports Print Center.

A more thorough explanation on Coin Value Table research,
grading concerns, and underlying philosophy is presented a few paragraphs down.

Coin Value Tables for some of
the most popular United States coins are ready for your viewing
pleasure:

Year: This column indicates the year for which the values
in each row correspond to.

Grade: This row indicates coin grade, based on the ANA
scale. Example: VG-8 stands for Very Good-8.

Value: The examples circled indicates this coin was worth
$5775 in XF-40 condition in the year 2011, but fell to $5300 by 2015.

Return Rate %:
Show the effective percentage annual return
rate, from the year in the far left column to the present. The example
circled indicates this coin in VF-20 condition advanced at a rate of
8.12% annually from 1950 to 2015. The same coin grew at an annual rate
of 5.00% from 1980 to 2015, and 4.69 a year from 1995 to 2015. However,
it lost 1.94 percent annually from 2009 to 2015.

Coin
Value Tables: An Explanation

Occasionally, we get questions on the "How,
What, and Why" regarding the Coin Value Tables. The following
bullet point links explain in greater detail the inner workings of the
tables.

The primary purpose of the Coin Value Tables
is to provide coin buyers with historic value trends over the last half
century for individual coins, in order to identify coins possessing the
best opportunity for solid future growth, while avoiding those with
questionable potential. This is not to say that rare coins should
be viewed strictly as investment vehicles, but if you enjoy
numismatics and intend to make some purchases, why not make selections
destined to rise in value over time?

By reviewing value trend data covering a period of many years, one can
determine proven "track records" and make smart purchase decisions.
Look for coins with the most impressive growth rates over long periods
of time. These are the coins that will command the highest prices from
the coin collecting hobby in the years to come. Hindsight is the
clearest form of vision, and it is the most powerful tool available.

Some examples on how to use the Coin Value Tables for locating
blue chip coins are found on our Bullish US Coins page, which spotlights a few of
the obvious winners. Coins with extraordinary potential, identified as
key dates, are also mentioned on most pages in our U.S.
Coin Types section.

Compounded
annual rate of return is a
universal measure of investment return.

The Coin Value Tables contain many
compounded annual return
rate computations, to facilitate comparisons from one coin to the next,
measuring how much they change in value over time. Compounded annual
return rates, the typical yardstick for measuring investment vehicles,
are offered here and are from 1950 to the present, 1980, 1995-2000, and
2009-2010, all to the present year.

Why were these years chosen from which to measure compounded annual
return rates? What follows is a brief insight on why these periods were
selected for analysis:

As the popularity of coin
collecting expanded in the 1950s, the Whitman coin folder was the
faithful companion of the budding numismatist.

1950: More than five decades ago, most of
even the rarest collectible coins had not yet started their ascent into
the pricing stratosphere (after all, who today could imagine purchasing
an 1893-S Morgan silver dollar in VG for a mere $15.00?). Not
coincidentally, this is just about the time coin collecting started
gaining appreciably in popularity in the United States.

Thus, evaluating annual growth since 1950 is a worthwhile endeavor
because it is a reasonable "starting point". What you will see is that
coins held in the highest esteem by collectors (i.e. "key dates") have
easily outpaced their more mundane brethren over the last half century,
and will continue do do so. By comparing compounded annual return rates
since 1950, the most important coins sought by numismatists are readily
identified.

GOLD

RECORD CLOSE: $850/oz

Jan 21, 1980**

1980: The precious metals boom of
1979-1980 simultaneously fueled a massive explosion in coin prices. By
the winter of 1980 the coin industry stood on an unprecedented plateau.
Since then, coin values have gone down and up tremendously several
times. Any coin weathering the wild roller coaster ride since 1980 is
certainly a fine acquisition. **In 2014, gold
hovers around $1200-$1400/oz, but when inflation is factored in, the
1980
high is still by far the record close.

1995-2000: In 1995-2000, coins were emerging from
the shadows of a severe slump that had spanned several years. Many
observers cite as the cause of the tailspin the issuance of the
grading services initial population reports in the late 1980s,
which provided a better glimpse of the actual scarcity of collectible
coins, followed by speculators fleeing from coins. Since 1995, we've
witnessed a steady, if not spectacular, rise in numismatic market
conditions. With the speculator debacle behind us, you can bet the
price hikes since then are supported by sound fundamentals. Coins that
have appreciated nicely since 1995 are likely valuable heirlooms you
will be proud to pass on to your grandchildren.

2009-2010 We include rate of return computations from the
more recent past. The global economic downturn that began in late 2008
has not, as a whole, dramatically suppressed coin market activity. To
the contrary, prices have held steady or have risen. That's not to say
some coins have not suffered a pullback in pricing, because here and
there we've seen some values reductions since 2009-2010. The Rare Coin
Value
Index trends show the market holding its own during recent tough
economic times.

Perhaps you prefer a different year for a baseline comparison. Whatever
time frame you choose, you're in luck here, because this site features
a flexible Coin Rate of Return Calculator, where readers are
free to compute compounded annual return rates for virtually any time
period, for any coin they wish to analyze. It's easy and fun to use,
and yields great information!

Grading has always been
central to numismatics, but decades ago, the standards employed to
grade coins were somewhat vague and applied inconsistently. Over the
last 20 years, great strides have been made to bring more
standardization to grading practices. Throughout it all, the magnifying
lens has earned a reputation as one of
the most important tools the coin collector should invest in.

Going back to the 1950s and before, coin grading
was limited to a few adjectival terms, such as Good, Fine,
Uncirculated, and Proof. Accordingly, numismatic references of those
times conformed to the same set of adjectives to approximate retail
coin values.

Varying distinctions of Uncirculated (today's equivalent of MS-60,
MS-63, etc.) and Proof were recognized in some advertisements and
auction bills by employing modifying descriptors such as "Gem
Uncirculated" or "Choice Proof", for example. However, with no clear
point of reference or consistency on how the modifying descriptors were
invoked, most publishers resorted to listing values for only one
"Uncirculated" grade and one "Proof" grade.

In the late 1970s, as coin prices escalated dramatically, most notably
for pristine, high quality specimens, varying distinctions of
"Uncirculated" and "Proof" became evermore critical. Descriptors
"Choice" and "Gem" were replaced by numerically assigned grades,
utilizing the newly developed 70 point ANA scale, based on a numeric system introduced by
Dr. William Sheldon in the 1940s. Uncirculated coins were
differentiated as MS-60, MS-65, or MS-70. A few years later, grades
MS-63 and MS-67 joined the fray. Although not applied consistently (a
situation that gave the coin business a black eye), the practice of
assigning a numerical grade to indicate quality was universal by the
mid-1980s, and eventually brought some consistency to coin collecting
that was absent as the hobby passed through its formative years.

The Coin Value Tables reflect the historic availability of
numeric grades to describe coins. Thus, for 1950 through 1975, the
values appearing in the MS-60 column should be viewed as the
"Uncirculated" listings of those years, since numeric grades largely
did not exist. Likewise, PF-65 corresponds to simple "Proof" figures of
the same time period, while G-4 corresponds to the "Good", VG-8 to
"Very Good", and so forth. By 1980, when numeric grades were in
widespread use, the MS-60 column should be interpreted to indicate
precisely that. Other grades, MS-63 for example, made their debut on
the Coin Value Tables in 1980 or later, and are carried
forward from that time to the present. As more intermittent grades and
qualifiers (e.g. "Dimpled" Morgan silver dollars) became commonplace,
they too were added to the Coin Value Tables.

One Caveat: In February 1986, the ANA changed its
grading interpretations to match the tightening standards demanded by
the marketplace. This meant that many coins correctly graded as MS-65
in the early 1980s became MS-63 or less, so as to be consistent with
the newly revised interpretation. Conversely, a coin graded after 1986
as MS-63 was about equal in quality to an MS-65 before 1986. Thus, the
Mint State prices published in numismatic periodicals prior to 1986 are
not directly comparable to those published later. The Coin Value Tables
of this website relied heavily on periodicals from before 1986, but we
did not attempt to compensate for the revised grading standards of
1986; we reported what we found. One must take this into account when
studying trends for an MS-65 coin from, say, 1980 to the present. On
the other hand, because of the dearth of Mint State price estimates
published prior to 1986, more than 98% of the Coin Value Table data is
not affected by anything mentioned in this paragraph!

More in-depth knowledge on grading is presented on our Grading Coins section. There, you'll find a few
thoughts on the importance of coin grading, a look at the ANA grading
scale, plus more.

The "Redbook" was one of many
sources researched for trends. In its earlier years, the popular
reference was somewhat sketchy by today's standards, as were all coin
publications of those times.

Many of the old coin values reported in the
tables were researched from the vast holdings of the ANA library (American
Numismatic
Association). Reference materials include vintage advertisements,
auction results, and a wide variety of numismatic periodicals and other
publications from decades ago.

Coin values of recent years were researched through much the same
method, utilizing, of course, newer material. Data collection efforts
for coin values of modern times were greatly augmented by Internet
availability.

In all cases, the prices appearing in the Coin Value Tables
represent a compilation of data from these sources, in order to provide
to our readers the most accurate historical coin value trends possible.

Lately, the Rare Coin Values Index is behaving like it thinks its the Dow Jones. That would be an exaggeration of course, because the Index is not climbing at THAT meteoric pace, but it has now closed…